Implementation of the Small-Scale Fisheries Guidelines

This chapter provides a brief history and description of the SSF Guidelines, including their key underlying principles. It emphasizes the role of instruments like these in mobilizing government and nongovernment support for small-scale fisheries. At the same time, challenges in the implementation do exist and need to be overcome. The chapter introduces the book and the case studies included within as illustrations of what these challenges are and how they are addressed in practice.

Institutions are key instruments in the governance system, playing an important role in its functionality and performance. From the interactive governance perspective, fisheries governability (or how governable fisheries are) depends largely on how governing institutions are designed and organized, how well they correspond with the natural and social systems that they aim to govern, and the extent to which they foster or inhibit collaboration and interaction among governing actors—including people employed in fisheries– and the institutions they have created for themselves at household and community levels. We argue that the governance of small-scale fisheries thus occurs in a landscape of institutional pluralism that is itself challenging from a governability perspective. The chapter examines two key international fisheries instruments—the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries (1995) and the Voluntary Guidelines for Security Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines) (2015)—and discusses their institutional role in fisheries governance and governability.

The fundamental rights of small-scale fishers and their communities are founded in core instruments, principles, and standards of international human rights law. Despite this foundation, only over the past decade has the international community begun giving attention and recognition to the human rights law and fisheries law nexus. Small-scale fishers and their communities are entitled to human, fishing, and tenure rights, which are fundamental to their livelihoods, subsistence, and culture. This chapter examines the applicability of human rights treaties to small-scale fishers, clarifies their fundamental rights, and further analyses relevant international jurisprudence. It argues that the examined jurisprudence can be used to support the protection of fundamental rights of small-scale fishers and their communities, as well as their right to participate in decision-making processes concerning development activities and fisheries management, which directly affect them. This chapter concludes by reflecting on questions for future research.

The chapter focuses on assessing how the rights of small-scale fishers and their communities can be secured in the context of fisheries management areas (FMAs) in the Philippines. The FMA is a new fisheries management system enabled by the amended Fisheries Code (Republic Act 10654) that aims to apply the precautionary principle and ecosystem-based approach to fisheries management. This assessment shows how the eight small-scale fisheries issues outlined in the rapid appraisal study of Nakamura et al. (2021) are addressed under the FMA. The 1987 Philippines Constitution and existing national laws and policy, including the Fisheries Administrative Order 263 that established and delineated 12 FMAs in Philippine territorial waters, recognize municipal fishers’ tenure and preferential rights over the use of municipal waters, ensure their participation in fisheries management, and promote their representation in institutional arrangements. However, these laws have not yet been fully implemented, which needs to be strengthened. Stronger law enforcement to prevent commercial fishers from encroaching into municipal waters, a clear stance from the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources on the presence of commercial fishers in municipal waters, adequate implementation funds, use of clear implementation guidelines in establishing institutional arrangements, and adequate representation of small-scale fishers can help protect fishers’ rights.

Despite a world consensus recognizing the economic, social, environmental, and cultural values of small-scale fisheries, Mexican fishers and their communities face vulnerability stemming from historical structural susceptibility, inequality, exclusion, and limited participation in policy and decision-making. The Blue Growth agenda positions oceans and ecosystems at the center of solutions to global environmental and social crises but fails to ensure equitable benefits for fishing communities. In contrast, Blue Justice and the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines) call for the vindication of the fishing sector as a historical user of aquatic ecosystems and challenge the Blue Growth agenda through the lens of social justice. To advance the implementation of these initiatives, this chapter aims to (1) evaluate the alignment of Mexican laws and policies with respect to the SSF Guidelines and identify challenges associated with policy instruments and (2) propose lines of actions and reforms to advance the implementation of the SSF Guidelines and the inclusion of a Blue Justice approach in public policies in Mexico. To this end, we undertook a rapid appraisal based on a literature review and longitudinal analysis of the legal framework in Mexico. The results show that this framework offers moderate coherence of tenure rights, management, and climate change, incorporating diverse institutions to address resource management and policies. Nevertheless, there is a need to strengthen capacities and close gaps in gender, social rights, and decent work to improve fishers’ livelihoods, sustainable fisheries, and equitable conditions for the use of marine resources. Political will is needed to leverage these institutional arrangements and promote co-governance to implement the SSF Guidelines and undertake a Blue Justice approach in public policies. Mainstreaming the adoption of human rights-based approaches, the SSF Guidelines and Blue Justice can support such initiatives, while collaboration among civil society, academia, government, and fishers can encourage movement in this direction.

In Lamu, Kenya, small-scale fisheries are an integral part of culture, livelihoods, and the local economy. Unfortunately, this vibrant region on Kenya’s north coast is under threat from a large-scale development project that affects local communities and the natural ecosystems on which they rely. The implementation of the SSF Guidelines, and particularly the guidelines’ emphasis on protecting small-scale fishers’ human rights, could provide local communities with a measure of protection from these threats. In recent years, the community in Lamu has worked in precisely that direction, fighting and winning a lawsuit against several government agencies that ruled to protect fishers’ constitutional rights to life, culture, a clean and healthy environment, and property. To document this struggle and draw lessons from it, we conducted a literature review and legal analysis, also drawing on our personal experience with the community in question. The court’s novel interpretation of Kenya’s 2010 Constitution makes clear the integral connection between basic human rights and the protection of small-scale fisheries, providing a model for other communities whose rights are threatened by large development projects. At the same time, there is a risk of the 2018 judgment being only a victory on paper as the case continues to wind its way through appeals. There is a wide gap between the court’s ruling and the concrete reality on the ground in Lamu where, despite the ruling, part of the port project has become operational while the remainder is under construction, resulting in environmental damage and the displacement of fishers from their traditional fishing grounds. Despite the continuing failure of the Kenyan government to protect fishers in Lamu, these events nonetheless demonstrate that the SSF Guidelines can be progressively implemented when fishers and civil society make rights-based legal demands.

The small-scale fisheries sector characterizes a range of complex and diverse fishing practices, with significant social and economic dependency and constrained institutional capacity. In Brazil, an imbroglio around fishing policies has marked fisheries management discussions, affecting institutional, legal, and policy frameworks. Consequently, the Brazilian small-scale fisheries sector has suffered from environmental, social, and economic preconceptions arising from poor management and regulation, which has jeopardized fisheries resources’ sustainable use and threatened food security. From the 1990s onwards, an institutional breakdown followed public awareness of ecosystem conservation and the importance of managing fisheries resources for local communities’ sustainability. More recently, while reforms in the structure and mandate of public fisheries agencies represent some progress, legal and policy implementation and local engagement remain a challenge. Against this backdrop and the SSF Guidelines’ recommendations, this chapter explores fisheries policy stewardship by analyzing tenure rights, decent work, and gender equality in Brazil. The authors collected and examined legal and policy instruments relevant to small-scale fisheries, clarifying definitions of terms relevant to small-scale fisheries, institutional arrangements, key principles, provisions and considerations for small-scale fishers, and stakeholders’ interactions and participation. The authors submit that a new regulation is needed to clearly detail the rights and obligations of small-scale fishers. Moreover, public policies should support the implementation of existing relevant policies and laws in the small-scale fisheries sector and the use of participatory methodologies that include and value small-scale fisheries empirical and traditional knowledge.

Despite over 150 years of federal statutory governance of Canadian fisheries, the Canadian government does not have a statutory or regulatory regime for managing—or even defining—small-scale fisheries. These fisheries have been de facto managed in the context of larger fisheries, or on an ad hoc basis, instead of being governed with legislation that provides special considerations for small-scale fisheries as a valuable fisheries sector. This regulatory gap raises the question of whether Canadian small-scale fisheries require or could benefit from their own purpose-made regulatory scheme. This chapter examines the importance of legally defining small-scale fisheries for the purpose of effective governance, including what factors contribute to defining such fisheries at a statutory level and how the SSF Guidelines interface with Canada’s current fisheries governance mandate. Constitutional history and Canadian legal principles reviewed in this chapter will provide a foundational legal understanding of Canadian fisheries. Statutes, regulations, policy documents, and jurisprudence will provide a description of the current indirect approach to Canadian small-scale fisheries governance. This chapter lays the foundation for defining and regulating small-scale fisheries in Canada, examines the benefits of such a system for this class of fisheries, and outlines potential roadblocks to developing such regulations.

The Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines) are the first international instrument dedicated entirely to small-scale fisheries. Given that the SSF Guidelines are strongly rooted in good governance principles, their implementation requires commitment and considerable efforts from governments as lead agencies. To help facilitate the process in Thailand, this chapter analyzes the laws, policies, and legal frameworks in the country, appraising the extent to which they promote or inhibit viability and sustainability of small-scale fisheries based on the consistency of these frameworks with key principles stipulated in the SSF Guidelines. Drawing on available information in government databases, reputable websites, and relevant literatures, the analysis reveals that stakeholder participation; economic, social, and environmental sustainability; and ecosystem-based approaches are well-covered areas under the main fisheries legislation—the 2015 Royal Ordinance on Fishery. Specifically, economic, social, and environmental sustainability are explicitly specified in the Fishery Management Plan, the 20-year National Strategic Plan, and 12th National Economic and Social Development Plan. While issues such as human rights and dignity, respect of culture, nondiscrimination, gender equality and equity, equity and equality, rule of law, transparency, and accountability are not directly addressed in the current fisheries law, they can be found in non-fisheries specific legislations. While it may seem that Thailand is in a relatively good position to implement the SSF Guidelines within the context of existing institutions, further deliberation about some key governing principles and how to integrate them in the current legal framework is required in order to move forward.

Small-scale fisheries in Nepal can be defined as an ancient activity centered around outdoor subsistence fishing and harvesting other aquatic organisms for nutrition and livelihoods, practiced in rivers, streams, tributaries, swamps, lakes, wetlands, ditches, ponds, rice fields, and other water bodies. To safeguard small-scale fisheries along with aquatic biodiversity, dignity of small-scale fishers, and human rights, several countries have endorsed the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines). Researchers have not yet assessed the alignment of national and provincial policy and legal frameworks of Nepal with the SSF Guidelines. Thus, in the present study, we examined the status of policy and legal frameworks relevant to small-scale fisheries using focus group discussion and key informant interviews. The results showed that most legislation has ignored small-scale fisheries, but customary rules and practices apply strongly in Nepal in several sectors with high regards. Therefore, it can be anticipated that small-scale fisheries would be get recognized importance and accommodate as one of the main policy and legal framework of Nepal. In general, the governance of small-scale fisheries requires to be strengthened through formulating legal frames based on the recently promulgated National Fisheries Development Policy 2022 for environmental, socioeconomic benefits and embracing human rights development index.

For Pacific Island people, coastal fisheries are fundamental for supporting livelihoods, nutrition and health, cultures, and economies. However, only in the last 30 years has the region’s fisheries policy come to recognize the significant contributions of coastal fisheries and the need for national management strategies. This chapter tracks the evolving regional policy on coastal fisheries, including the challenges and opportunities for prospective regional and national policy formation and implementation. Regional policy first recognized the importance of management across coastal waters in 2003; since then, this recognition has increased through a series of directives and strategic frameworks. The need to accelerate the national implementation of coastal fisheries management has led fisheries agency staff and other science and civil society stakeholders to collectively develop, under the auspices of the Pacific Community (SPC), the “Pacific Framework for Action on Scaling up Community-based Fisheries Management: 2021–2025.” Regional policies are specifically targeted and prioritized for national needs and provide the most effective means of support delivery. The SSF Guidelines are supplementary, particularly in the areas of human rights, and their further integration through joint delivery at the national level will be important. Over 600 community-based fisheries management sites have been documented across the Pacific Islands, which in some countries includes most fishing communities. These sites represent almost the entirety of coastal marine protected areas, which are significant for achieving international conservation targets. However, in highly populated countries, substantial community coverage remains unlikely, suggesting that other aspects of the enabling environment need to be addressed. More crucially, implementation is challenged by limitations to national staffing and recurrent budgets. With increasing philanthropic interest in funding locally governed marine and coastal areas, it will be crucial that these efforts build on the substantial progress made and are guided by regional and national public policy. A critical consideration is ensuring substantially increased management budgets and administrative capacity of fisheries agencies.

Small-scale fisheries contribute significantly to Bangladesh’s economy in terms of production, protein supply, and foreign currency earnings. However, fishers face numerous challenges related to food security and climate vulnerability. These issues can be addressed through responsible and sustainable fisheries management, as Bangladesh’s fisheries sector has a high potential to contribute to the country’s socioeconomic development. The Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines) advocate legal, regulatory, policy, and institutional frameworks that recognize and protect small-scale fisheries’ access rights. In this context, this chapter examines the current status of Bangladesh’s fisheries legal framework and the constraints for implementing fisheries laws to secure fishers’ rights. The findings indicate a supporting, yet insufficient, legal framework for securing small-scale fishers’ rights due to various shortcomings in certain legislation and policies. Furthermore, there has been no comprehensive reorganization or definition of small-scale fishers in existing legal frameworks. This chapter recommends that the existing legal framework should be amended to include the recognition and protection of small-scale fishers’ rights and their equitable participation in management and institutions to support the sustainability of small-scale fisheries and the full realization of their rights.

An analysis of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Indicator 14. b.1. in the Nigerian context shows that no data are available on the degree of application of a legal, regulatory, policy, or institutional framework which recognizes and protects access rights for small-scale fisheries for Nigeria. The country has endorsed the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines), but there have been no concrete efforts to implement them. Small-scale fisheries in Nigeria are regulated and governed by legal and policy instruments both at the national and state levels, which are anchored in fundamental provisions of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as last amended in 2010. The constitution, as amended, places matter of small-scale fisheries in the Concurrent Legislative List, which means that laws and regulations can be enacted both at the national and state levels. It is noteworthy that Nigeria is a signatory to many international instruments and conventions that have both direct and indirect bearing on Nigeria’s small-scale fisheries. This chapter adopts a transdisciplinary and collaborative approach to examining the extant legal and policy frameworks with respect to the rights of fishers and to what extent they are directly mentioned or implied in these provisions. It is also based on an exploratory assessment of how these pluralities of instruments address the key small-scale fisheries legal issues in Nigeria. Legal provisions are very important in ensuring that the rights of small-scale fishers, fish workers, and fishing communities are recognized and protected.

The fisheries sector in India provides livelihoods to 16 million fishers and fish workers and contributes 7% of the country’s agricultural income. Fisheries activity within the country takes place in diverse settings, shaped by distinct social-ecological histories. The institutional structure of fisheries governance reflects the inherent intricacies of India’s federal democratic structure and consists of arrangements at multiple levels, from local to national. Starting in 2016, Indian fisheries policy has aligned itself with the imperatives of the blue economy, which envisions persistent growth in exports, income, profit, and investment. The rudimentary resource rights of small and marginal fishers, traditional knowledge systems, livelihoods and subsistence orientation, fish habitat conservation, and the identities of small-scale fisheries systems have since been relegated to the background in policy exercises. This chapter aims to develop a nuanced understanding of the complex policy and legal frameworks and the multilevel, diverse, and pluralistic fisheries governance arrangements in India, focusing specifically on their implications for the social-ecological well-being of small-scale fisheries. The Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication, with their emphasis on supportive legal policy frameworks and appropriate institutional capacity to address the prolonged marginalization and vulnerability of small-scale fisheries, form the foundation for this analysis. In the chapter, we outline the historical complexities and legacies surrounding the development of fisheries policy and legal frameworks in India, discussing national and regional policies guiding the small-scale fisheries sector drawing on illustrations from the two Indian states of Odisha and Gujarat. We also evaluate the well-being implications of these policies and legal frameworks.

Argentina’s fish and shellfish resources support several high-volume, export-oriented industrial fisheries with annual landings close to 800,000 tons. Compared to the industrial sector, which expanded greatly over the last 40 years, artisanal marine fisheries have remained insignificant in terms of catch volume and value, receiving little attention from governments despite their local importance. Argentina is a federal country with five coastal provinces, which have jurisdiction over the marine resources within 12 nautical miles from the shore and within gulfs. Since each province manages artisanal fisheries within its territorial waters, the importance assigned to them, the legal frameworks available, and their degree of application vary greatly among provinces. In a few cases, municipal governments have also been involved in generating policies for the sector, adding to the complex multilevel governance context of small-scale fisheries. This chapter reviews the main national and provincial laws and policies relevant to marine artisanal fisheries, as well as a number of cases that were litigated in court, to evaluate the extent of adherence to the principles of the SSF Guidelines in the law and in practice. We complement this review with an analysis of fishers’ knowledge about the legal instruments in use, and the perceptions of key actors involved in judicialized cases from Buenos Aires and Chubut – two provinces with a long history of artisanal fisheries. These cases illustrate the main limitations and challenges faced by the artisanal sector, revealing how far the country is from implementing the SSF Guidelines.

Using Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, as a case study, this chapter examines alignment between the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines) and the laws and policies applying to small-scale fisheries in the province. We use interactive governance as an analytical lens to investigate opportunities to strengthen this alignment. Two central questions guide this analysis. First, how do the laws and policies in Newfoundland and Labrador align with principles and topics covered by the SSF Guidelines? Second, using insights from this analysis, what are the legal, policy, and practical opportunities for further alignment with the Guidelines to advance Blue Justice? Drawing on sources such as federal and provincial laws and policies and secondary literature, this analysis reveals that there is ample coverage of the SSF Guidelines in law and policy, but key opportunities exist for stronger alignment to enhance protections for small-scale fisheries. These areas of improvement include better integration of rights and assurances in legislation and policy frameworks, including distinct legal recognition and representation for the small-scale fishing fleet, and the introduction of secure access and tenure rights for small-scale fisheries.

The fishery governance system in Japan, characterized by the fishery rights system as detailed in the Fisheries Act, has primarily contributed to ensuring the sustainability of small-scale fisheries, fishing communities, the fundamental viability of fishers’ livelihoods, and social justice by guaranteeing them an exclusive and independent right to fish. The Fisheries Act was significantly amended in 2020, with the original Fisheries Act legislating the “minsyuka (democratization)” of fisheries in its provisions. However, the new Fisheries Act removed this language and placed much greater emphasis on resource management and fishery efficiency (Li et al., Unlocking legal and policy frameworks for small-scale fisheries in Japan. In Kerezi, V., Nakamura, J., El Halimi, M., and Chuenpagdee, R. (Eds.) Unlocking legal and policy frameworks for small-scale fisheries: global illustrations. TBTI global publication series. St St. John’s. Accessed 16 Feb 2022, 2020). The stated reason for the deletion of the word is that minsyuka has already been achieved (Fisheries Agency, Partial revision of the Fisheries Act Q&A. Accessed 20 Jan 2023. In Japanese. https://​www.​jfa.​maff.​go.​jp/​j/​kikaku/​kaikaku/​attach/​pdf/​sankou-13.​pdf, 2019), which means the certain control of the fishing grounds and the use of fishing grounds by a small group of fishers, which was problematic and undemocratic in the past, has been eliminated and solved. However, one must understand that the word minsyuka is more than just “eliminating some power control.” It could function to ensure that fishers operate independently, have their subsistence and fishing rights safeguarded, participate in decision-making processes, and more. This chapter argues that behind such movements is a lack of appropriate governance principles. It focuses on this new Fisheries Act, examining it from the perspective of small-scale fisheries sustainability. The analysis suggests a need to reimagine governance principles in Japan where there is a danger of losing what is important in fishery governance – securing the rights of the people who depend on small-scale fisheries and life above water – under the current situation with the rise of “equal” thinking, efficiency-oriented thinking, and the waning of important principles including the Difference Principle and minsyuka, as well as increasing awareness of the SSF Guidelines across the whole country and their conscious promotion.

This chapter provides an analysis of the legal and regulatory framework for governing small-scale fisheries in mainland Tanzania. This analysis is motivated by the conviction that the multidimensional challenges facing small-scale fishers can be redressed through a coherent and robust legal and regulatory framework that recognizes, promotes, and protects their rights and freedoms to conduct fishery-related activities. We therefore examined the extent to which the existing national policies, laws, and regulations in mainland Tanzania recognize, respect, and protect the numerous rights and freedoms of small-scale fishers and facilitate the redress of challenges preventing them from generating wealth, contributing to food security and poverty eradication, and conserving inland, coastal, and marine resources. We carefully read and analyzed relevant policy and legal documents and secondary sources to generate evidence on the current state of affairs in the small-scale fishery sector. Based on the evidence generated, we established that (1) small-scale fisheries activities and business are recognized and treated as lawful productive work and businesses; (2) the performance and prominence of the small-scale fisheries sector are obscured in national statistics; (3) access and tenure rights of small-scale fishers are recognized but weakly enforced; (4) the right of small-scale fishers to financial credits is not recognized; (5) the labor rights of small-scale fishers are recognized inadequately and formal social protection mechanisms are nonexistent in the small-scale fisheries sector; (6) many taxes, levies, and bureaucratic procedures for certifying fishery products constrain small-scale fishers from accessing profitable national and international markets; (7) the roles of small-scale fishers in the protection and conservation of fisheries resources and the environment are recognized and promoted, but inadequately supported; and (8) gender issues and disaster- and climate-related challenges in the small-scale fisheries sector are not treated adequately, and appropriate mechanisms for their management are missing. Notwithstanding these limitations, we noted that overall, the status of the rights of access, tenure, and labor of small-scale fishers has improved under the current legal and regulatory framework. They may even improve further with the successful implementation of the National Plan of Action for Implementing the Small-Scale Fisheries Guidelines (NPoA-SSF Guidelines). The NPoA-SSF Guidelines has adopted human rights principles in its planned actions, so it could inspire reviews of the existing policies, laws, regulations, and enforcement mechanisms to integrate and realize the human rights of small-scale fishers.

The SSF Guidelines seek to enhance the contribution of small-scale fisheries to food security and nutrition, improve their socioeconomic situation, achieve sustainable use and management of fisheries, and ensure that small-scale fisheries contribute to sustainable futures. The EU has voiced commitments to the SSF Guidelines, and EU Member State Sweden has been commended for its work abroad to advance them. This chapter investigates Sweden’s domestic arena, focusing on marine fisheries. We ask whether Sweden’s legal and policy framework – which extends from EU to local levels – is compatible with implementing key SSF Guidelines recommendations, namely, (1) securing small-scale fisheries’ tenure rights to fishery resources and awarding them preferential access to waters under national jurisdiction, (2) providing designated support to small-scale fisheries, and (3) involving small-scale fisheries in management through representation and consultation. Our research shows that EU laws and policies could be compatible with implementing these provisions. National legislation permits Sweden to take these steps, but national policies do not clearly advance them. By contrast, some local policies strongly promote small-scale fisheries. The question is whether local political pressure, combined with EU encouragement, can steer Sweden toward implementation of the SSF Guidelines.

The chapter provides a summary of the progress made by states and non-state actors in the implementation of the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries (SSF Guidelines), based on the case studies presented in this volume. The chapter synthesizes what the authors say about how conducive existing laws and policies are for the implementation of the SSF Guidelines and the remaining gaps and challenges for implementation from the legal and policy perspective. Key lessons are summarized from across the chapter case studies, along with gaps and challenges. A discussion about how to support and promote the implementation of the SSF Guidelines is presented, following the three orders of governance. This includes how to strengthen alignment between the existing legal and policy frameworks with the principles underlying the SSF Guidelines, how to build governance capacity to support the implementation, and how to reframe the discussion about small-scale fisheries from one of problems to solutions. The chapter concludes by arguing for an integrated approach to interpreting and using the existing legislation and policies for small-scale fisheries. This proposed approach is essential for clearing the pathways for concrete change, making these instruments work better in practice for small-scale fisheries, and promoting action by states and non-state actors to ensure the SSF Guidelines go beyond an aspiring guiding instrument to one that is effectively implemented.